Is stereo still a thing? aka. Is one BEOPLAY A9 MKII enough?

rated by 0 users

This post has
0
verified answers |
45
Replies |
3
Followers

So in my living room I have a nice classic stereo setup as in Squeezebox, D/A converter, high end amp and two big passive speakers (sorry, not B&O) and I am considering a music solution for the bed room. As I try to keep things as simple as possible for the bed room I am considering a BEOPLAY A9 MKII, however I wonder about stereo with such a setup - is there such a thing as to simple a setup?

The question is really both a BEOPLAY A9 MKII question, but also a general one when looking at all the active one speaker setups that are being bought these days. It sort of has me wondering - all the work I did with how my speakers was placed in my living room with my, now old school, setup is that just not needed anymore? Or is it that the convenience of just the one speaker has won over the loss in audio quality? Or is the truth somewhere in between?

Bottom line. Being used to listening to a good classic stereo setup will the A9 work for me, or am I serviced just as well by just cranking up the volume in the living room when locating my self in the bed room?

Also. A bit off topic for this thread, but I plan to have my Logitech Music Server act as a DLNA server to feed the A9. If there is good or bad things about this do say so.

All Replies

Considering how popular stereo headphones are, I’d say
stereo sound as a format is definitely very much still a thing.Also, I do believe there is a strong interest
in stereo sound in the automobile environment.

That said, it does seam like dedicated home stereo setups have
seen notable reductions in interest, with the number of available systems that
offer a true stereo sound experience dwindling to meet the decreasing demand.It would appear that an increasing number of people
find it quite acceptable to passively listen to music in the background in a
home setting, preferring small size and convenience over stereophonic high
fidelity.

However, there will always be a number of audiophiles that
strongly prefer a true stereo sound experience in the home setting.That said, I don’t believe this is what will
keep the stereo sound format mainstream. Rather, at least in my opinion, the format will
stay mainstream due to the popularity of the format with headphones and in the automobile
environment.

So in my living room I have a nice classic stereo setup as in Squeezebox, D/A converter, high end amp and two big passive speakers (sorry, not B&O) and I am considering a music solution for the bed room. As I try to keep things as simple as possible for the bed room I am considering a BEOPLAY A9 MKII, however I wonder about stereo with such a setup - is there such a thing as to simple a setup?

The question is really both a BEOPLAY A9 MKII question, but also a general one when looking at all the active one speaker setups that are being bought these days. It sort of has me wondering - all the work I did with how my speakers was placed in my living room with my, now old school, setup is that just not needed anymore? Or is it that the convenience of just the one speaker has won over the loss in audio quality? Or is the truth somewhere in between?

Bottom line. Being used to listening to a good classic stereo setup will the A9 work for me, or am I serviced just as well by just cranking up the volume in the living room when locating my self in the bed room?

Also. A bit off topic for this thread, but I plan to have my Logitech Music Server act as a DLNA server to feed the A9. If there is good or bad things about this do say so.

This sounds familiar, as I too am very attached and habituated to stereo sound for music listening - even to the extent that in my main (lounge) 5.1 setup, I only really listen to music using stereo 2.0. (if I engage the other speakers in the 5.1 setup, it doesn't sound right to me)

So as very much a stereo fan, I do have an A9 MKII in my bedroom, which is 5m by 5m.

The A9 is probably (until the Eclipse release recently), one of the best of these one unit speakers / systems ever made. I have no regrets really with it.

However, while I am happy with it as an overkill solution for a modest sized room, and use it more for radio, podcasts (i.e. talk-y stuff), for music it does leave me feeling slightly underwhelmed at times. The separation just isn't there, for all its musical merits. Compared to the A6 for example, it has lovely depth and balance, and its plenty powerful enough. But I do miss the wider soundstage that a pair of speakers provides.

In the end bedroom listening may always be a compromise vs a lounge setup, being usually smaller, harder to place left right speakers etc.

I'm ok with the compromise, in part as I use it 80% of the time for non-music, in part because sorting out a neat alternative (wall mounting a pair of BL3's) is too much hassle right now.

Not sure if that helps - but sounds like we come from a similar place, preference wise.

Stereo is clearly still a thing. A single speaker will never sound as good as the sweet spot of a pair. However, I think many are realizing that 2 speakers do not automatically sound better than one, and, in some cases, one speaker can sound better (or almost as good) than 2 with much less fuss. 2 speakers need appropriate placement relative to the listener. If you’re sitting right next to a speaker, a mono or single point stereo speaker will normally sound better than one channel stereo because you are getting all of the music rather than ~1/2. Sometimes “appropriate placement” is difficult or impossible or only works for a small area, and you need to cover a large area. Sometimes it is just background music so you don’t care. I’m an avid stereo guy, but still have a few single point speakers for all of these reasons.

The A9 will be enough for you and especially in a bedroom. I thought the A9 although it’s one sphere has a left channel and a right channel. Anyway I listen to music on it and I never use a classic stereo separated pair for music. Mainly I use my BS1.

Many thanks to all of you for the good info. I do now feel a lot more confident about putting up just one unit to provide music in my bedroom - and also that it working with my current Logitech Media Server should not be a problem.

Along with reading your answers here I have also been looking at what B&O writes in their support section, looking especially at the manual and while clear enough it also leaves me with some questions and also I discovered there is a MKIII of the A9. I will research a bit more and I suspect I will have some questions on how one sets up the A9 like fx. can one do so without using an app - is there for instance an build-in web server one can access using WIFI or through an Ethernet cable.

Also I would like to find an review that compares the MKIII with the MKII, the new version has a different speaker arrangement and also sees a big jump in power. It also comes with a price bump or maybe it is just that right now one can buy the last of the MKII's at a discount. Priority one for me is getting the best solution as who remembers a price saving anyway over the long run.

But why not use the app - you will probably need that anyway e.g. for radio/TuneIn.....or?

Note: if you really only want to use DLNA sourced material (no B&O mulitroom etc), you could opt for the A9 first gen.

Preowned they go for rather little money, since they are limited (no ChromeCast/AirPlay 2...) - the sound is just as good as from the 2nd gen.

MM

Thank you. Interesting tip on the MkI and something I will look into.

I imagine the App will be my main way of controlling the A9, either that or possibly using a Logitech Duet controller(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt9N6NmsHUs) provided I can control the A9 through DLNA using the Logitech Media Server that is my music source. In my living room this is how I feed the stereo, as I have a Logitech box that is connected to my D/A-converter...

I think it is fine there is an app, however I do like that one can also talk directly to the A9 without having to use special software which is dependent on third parties(Apple/Google). To me that help ensuring longevity of a product.

Just for your info - it seems that you are getting things mixed up a bit.

Using the Logitech Media Server (LSM) is one thing - for this you would need to connect the output of the Logitech box (from the YouTubed product).

I suppose this is how you do it now in your main setup.

If this would be what you want for the A9, you will need no app, basicly no nothing.

Just connect the R/L output of the Logitech box to the L/R input on the A9.

Though this would work, I would not recommend it. You will most likely have to deal with 2 x volume control, which can be confusing.

Soundwise the best thing to do, would be to set the Logi-box to fixed line-output and control the volume solely on the A9.

Not very handy, I guess......when you do everything else on the Logitec controller.

Note: The A9 1 gen can be ir-controlled by a Beo4 - the 2nd and 3rd can not.

The other way to use the LMS, is to use the DLNA server that the LMS also provides (this was your initial question).

Using a DLNA server to get to your music with the A9 means using some kind of DLNA ‘playback software’ (in a controlling device).

This kind of software is essentially built-in to the Bang & Olufsen (iOS or Android) app. Hence my question, why not use the app?

Theoretically you could use any DLNA controller software/application/app for this.....but not the handy Logitech Remote (from the video)!!!

Sorry - maybe this is a bit confusing at first - but you will have to know these differences, in order to avoid false expectations.

MM.

Thank you very much for the added info.It is most helpful as I am planning my adventure into the B&O, a place I was last back when they made CRT TV's so it has been while.

I must admit to having no experience with DLNA and I guess that my hope of controlling what the A9 is playing from the server side may be impossible, that was my though regarding perhaps being able to control the music using my Logitech controller as I really like its interface with physical buttons and a screen(especially the scroll wheel is handy and it is clever - wakes up when you pick it up).

No question though that a "solution" where two volume controls are needed is not really a solution at all, so while a Squeezebox->A9 could work I can not imagine doing that. It would also mean having more gear in the bedroom than just the A9, so that would sort ruin the whole idea. If one were to go that way then the Mk3 is to have an optical in, meaning one could at least electrically isolate the A9 from the more basic Squeezebox.

Comparing the specs of the M2 with the Mk3 does have me scratching my head, there is a massive bump in power going to the latest generation(specs copied from the B&O website).